Alone Together
by DragonBlood-Katana
Summary: Adam and Ronan argue, but a wrong move on Ronan's part reopens wounds that neither enjoy remembering.
It started with Adam's birthday. It was approaching fast—in five days, Adam would be turning twenty-three—and Ronan had wanted to do something for it. It was logical, he thought, for him to want to celebrate with an expensive dinner and the best night he could plan; he was Adam's boyfriend of two and a half years, after all.

Adam had rejected the idea of the Ronan spending so much money. Apparently, he thought that it was already too much that Ronan was paying half the rent on their apartment—which was much better quality than the St. Agnes room Adam had been living in—and helped Adam make tuition payments for his education at Yale. Adam's blatant refusal of Ronan's attempt at being nice pissed Ronan off and before he knew what had happened, he and Adam were engaged in a fully-blown shouting match.

"Ronan, I'm telling you for the last time: _no!_ You already do too much! Stop being so damned selfless, it's not like you." Adam growled, hands in fists at his sides. Ronan knew he'd never dare throw a punch, though; Adam's father had made sure of that.

The thought of Adam's shit parents only made Ronan angrier. His lips curled back from his teeth in a snarl and he rolled his eyes. "If I'm being too selfless, you're worse by leaps and fucking bounds, Parrish. I've been dating you for almost three years! Why the ever-loving fuck is it so damned bad for me to want to treat you on your birthday, for fuck's sake? Jesus Christ, at this point, you're just being confining! This isn't about your damned pride anymore, Adam, and we both know it, so stop being so fucking stubborn!" Ronan threw his hands out to the side to punctuate his point.

Adam flinched so hard he actually stumbled backward from Ronan.

Any and all anger evaporated immediately.

Ronan lowered his hands instantly, and Adam's eyes went wide when he realized what had happened. He lowered his head, his arms coming up to wrap around his torso. Adam looked ashamed, almost guilty, that he'd reacted like that when Ronan hadn't even touched him.

Ronan approached Adam slowly, like he was a small, terrified animal. Adam certainly looked the part, right then, with the way he was curling in on himself. Ronan half-expected Adam to flinch away at his touch; he didn't and Ronan was incredibly relieved.

Ronan drew Adam into a sweet, gentle hug, holding him close. Adam leaned into his boyfriend's warmth, pressing his face into Ronan's shoulder. Ronan felt stupid; the argument hadn't been worth the collateral damage in the end.

"I'm sorry, love. I shouldn't have yelled like that. You're safe. I'm sorry, Adam. I'd never do that. I would never hurt you like that, I promise." Ronan ran his hands through Adam's curly hair, whispering his reassurances. It felt wrong to raise his voice any more than that, after all the yelling.

Adam shook his head a little, his arms sneaking around Ronan's waist to return the embrace. "It's not your fault. You were right. I'm just being stupid; there's no reason for me to be mad at you for trying to make my birthday nice. Old habits die hard, I guess."

Ronan sighed a little, shaking his head as well. "No, I get it, Adam. I get it. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I get it and it wasn't worth yelling at you over. I'm sorry for scaring you like that."

Adam sighed a little, his warm breath puffing against Ronan's collar bone. "Don't apologize for that. It's my own fault, anyway. It's been what, five years? I should be over it by now."

Ronan pulled away just enough to be able to tilt Adam's face up so he could lean his forehead against his boyfriend's. Ronan stroked Adam's cheeks with careful, gentle fingers, shaking his head slowly. "Don't you dare blame yourself for that, Adam. It's not your fault at all. You didn't ask for your father to beat the shit out of you. You didn't ask for it, you didn't want it, you didn't enjoy it, and you sure as hell didn't deserve it. It's fine to be afraid, you know. It doesn't make anyone think any less of you. You don't ever have to apologize for what that pathetic excuse for a human being did to you, okay?"

Adam smiled a little and nodded, eyes soft as he leaned up to press a light, chaste kiss to Ronan's lips. "Thanks, Ronan. I needed that."

Ronan smiled back and kissed Adam's forehead gently. "I know. Let's get you some sleep, yeah? Don't you have a test tomorrow?"

Adam nodded sheepishly. Ronan dropped his arms from Adam's waist and took a step back, his hand finding Adam's automatically. They curled up together in the bed, heads close enough to exchange the occasional lazily gentle kiss and to listen to their heartbeats. They were so close to opposite that if they listened closely, it sounded like a steady, quick rhythm of beats as their so completely out of sync hearts seemed to merge. By the time they fell asleep, any random person who walked in would have had a hard time telling where one of them started and the other began, they were so completely intertwined with each other.

The bright ring in the bottom drawer of Ronan's side of the dresser sat in its box to wait out the next five days until it would hear the words it had been made to witness: _Will you marry me?_


End file.
